How does the brain make choices after viewing a set of options? In what ways do emotions affect decision-making? Which patterns emerge when dividing consumers by age? These are the types of questions marketing undergraduates can help answer while working at the Center for Applied Research in Decision Making (CARD) housed by the Department of Marketing at the Fox School of Business.
We sat down with two of CARD’s current undergraduate student research assistants, Eve Matthew (marketing senior) and Diavionne Musser (marketing junior and honors student), to learn about what they do at CARD and their advice for undergraduates interested in research.
How long have you two been working at CARD?
Eve: I have been with the CARD lab since I was a freshman—so, about three years now.
Diavionne: This is my first semester working at CARD!
Eve, what first drew your attention to research? How did you end up at CARD?
During my junior and senior years of high school, I was in a research program called The Capstone Course. After I graduated, I wanted to look into opportunities to get into research at my university to keep that curiosity going.
When I first began learning about research participation opportunities at Temple University, I saw an email for an in-person MRI study. I thought it was interesting, so I applied and became a participant. When the day of the study finally came, I was really intrigued by the participant intake process and asked a lot of questions. The two researchers who conducted the study happened to be research fellows at the CARD lab. So, when I asked about getting into research as an undergrad, they recommended the lab right away.
Diavionne, you started at Temple as a genomic medicine major then later switched to marketing when you realized your passion was not in medicine. Were you always planning to involve yourself in research at the university? How did you find CARD?
I was always planning to involve myself in research at Temple, as its classification as an R1 research institution was one of my many reasons for applying. My original goal was to engage in genetic or general biological research. As a result, CARD especially interested me due to its interdisciplinary approach of using neurophysiological methods for marketing research.
Fox Honors academic director and marketing professor Katie Gerst shared openings at CARD. Temple’s American Marketing Association chapter also invited professor Crystal Reeck to discuss CARD at a meeting, which allowed me to speak with her about the opportunity one-on-one.
Please describe what you currently do working at CARD.
Diavionne: I currently aid more experienced students and CARD staff with their own research studies. I typically assist by coding data, creating stimuli, reviewing survey drafts and guiding study participants. I enjoy not only my functional work at CARD, but also learning from those with more research experience.
Eve: Currently, I am in the Diamond Research Scholars Program which allows me to pursue independent research as an undergraduate. Now, I research consumer and buyer behavior for fashion purchases made in web 2.0 (or on a website) versus web.3.0 (or in the Metaverse) purchase contexts. Research is conducted using mixed methods. This was also a topic that I was able to pick for myself, so it’s been great to work on.
Eve, are you able to tell us a little about your experiments? You also presented a paper at a professional conference last year. Can you tell us how that came to be as well?
My current work, as touched on earlier, deals with understanding fashion purchases made in the Metaverse. By using a single VR headset, I am able to present participants with a data set comprised of 3D versions of unique products/garments. They are then asked a series of questions to gauge their thoughts on the stimuli. Currently, I am interested in understanding the decision-making behavior of digital natives, online gamers and online shoppers within the limitations of the Temple student body.
Last year, I presented at the in-person poster session of the 2022 Association for Consumer Research (ACR) conference in Denver, Colorado. I was very lucky to have been a research assistant to my mentor Elizabeth Beard. I learned to clean data and create study stimuli, so when the paper was accepted by ACR, I was eligible for the opportunity to present this research that I had been helping with. There were not any other undergraduates at the conference as far as I knew, so it was an especially honoring experience, and it helped me get connected to professionals in my field.
Diavionne, do you think your work with CARD so far has helped you have a better understanding of what you want to do after graduation?
Definitely. Originally, I planned on finishing my education after receiving a bachelor's degree. However, now I would consider getting a higher degree after gaining some experience in the workforce to develop my own marketing research study.
What advice do you have for someone interested in research, but not sure how to start?
Diavionne: I would recommend learning more about Temple University's research centers through university-wide and Fox-specific websites, as there may be opportunities you are not aware of. Also, do not be afraid to reach out to the professors who lead research centers, as they are excited to meet students who are interested in similar areas of study.
Eve: I think they should know that there are so many ways to participate in research. Some days you may be conducting a survey or leading a focus group. Some days you might just be cleaning data or making sure everyone gets credit.
For a student like me interested in research, I would recommend getting in touch with any running studies on campus. It all starts by asking questions. By simply contacting researchers seen on “seeking participants" flyers, and asking them questions, you can begin to paint a better picture of what kind of research may be for you.
Want to learn more about undergraduate research with CARD?
Email professor Vinod Venkatraman.
Interested in participating in undergraduate research, but unsure where to start?
Email professor Monica Wadhwa at monica.wadhwa@temple.edu to discuss the possibilities at Fox.